Law school roommate celebrated his 30th last weekend in Vail, CO - didn't take much arm twisting to get me to go along. The last time I went skiing in Colorado was when I was about 8 years old - I wish I could dig up some pictures of me in that neon ski gear (with a head band!) But the goal is to get readers to come back to this blog, so let's just say I conveniently can't find the evidence.
Anyway - given the average holiday weekend lift ticket at Vail is almost equal to the down payment I made on my condo, we decided to try and get into the back country while we were out there. Since we had zero knowledge about the snow pack, we found ourselves a guide (plug for Apex - they did a pretty solid job) and headed to Chalk Creek, an area off of I-70 about 35 minutes south east of Vail. Turns out the guide was pretty unnecessary - there was no snow pack so not much to be concerned about - but they at least showed us a solid area we never would have found otherwise, and one of the guides stories about being a heli-skiing guide in Alaska kept us pretty entertained, to say the least.
27 January 2013
10 January 2013
Mt. Cardigan - January 6, 2013
First, I would like to take a moment to welcome Chris to the sport of skiing. Chris is excited to strap on some planks for the first time this winter and from what I understand, he really enjoys reading this blog. Welcome, Chris!
Second, I want to share some equally exciting news. I'm the proud owner of a Go Pro. Finally, at long last, this website will have some watchable video. I expect there will be a learning curve as I try out different mounts and different resolutions, but even the worse Go Pro video is a massive upgrade over the narrow FOV offered by my old Contour.
Second, I want to share some equally exciting news. I'm the proud owner of a Go Pro. Finally, at long last, this website will have some watchable video. I expect there will be a learning curve as I try out different mounts and different resolutions, but even the worse Go Pro video is a massive upgrade over the narrow FOV offered by my old Contour.
31 December 2012
Sugarbush - December 29, 2012
Well - Damn if we haven't gotten some early season snow this year. After spending most of the past few weekends moving and otherwise getting bogged down with being a first time property owner, I was thrilled to get out on the slopes this past Saturday and find some great coverage - and some outright pow to slap. After some discussion on Thursday night, Osgood, Darren and I decided to just head to Sugarbush for a day trip for the first time out this year instead of heading into the back-country. Assuming we don't have any rain this week, we'll try to break out the skins next weekend.
Alarm went off at 4:35 a.m., in the car at 5 a.m., met Osgood and Darren at the Kohls just south of Concord, and then headed up 89. We made great time, pulled into the parking lot at about 8:15 a.m. and were on the slopes before 8:45.
Some funky lighting and fog out of the gate, and then it started to snow, picking up about 6 inches on the day after 4 feet in the previous week. Pretty much everything we skied had nice coverage, and one of the nice parts about Sugarbush is there is some nice side country to explore where there is almost always some untracked powder, especially after the nice storms we enjoyed this week. Great day on the whole, other than (1) when someone appeared to be impressed by my bump skiing before immediately showing me up (anyone know if Jeremy Bloom was in VT this past weekend?); and (2) when Darren referred to me as "Katie." That was weird. Oh, and the 7 hour drive back to Boston after the VT highway division forgot to send out the plows wasn't very cool either.
Anyway, enjoy a few pics. I am in possession of a go pro, but no SD card yet, so video will have to wait for another week or two.
Alarm went off at 4:35 a.m., in the car at 5 a.m., met Osgood and Darren at the Kohls just south of Concord, and then headed up 89. We made great time, pulled into the parking lot at about 8:15 a.m. and were on the slopes before 8:45.
Some funky lighting and fog out of the gate, and then it started to snow, picking up about 6 inches on the day after 4 feet in the previous week. Pretty much everything we skied had nice coverage, and one of the nice parts about Sugarbush is there is some nice side country to explore where there is almost always some untracked powder, especially after the nice storms we enjoyed this week. Great day on the whole, other than (1) when someone appeared to be impressed by my bump skiing before immediately showing me up (anyone know if Jeremy Bloom was in VT this past weekend?); and (2) when Darren referred to me as "Katie." That was weird. Oh, and the 7 hour drive back to Boston after the VT highway division forgot to send out the plows wasn't very cool either.
Anyway, enjoy a few pics. I am in possession of a go pro, but no SD card yet, so video will have to wait for another week or two.
Funky a.m. lighting and fog.
10 November 2012
The Fells - November 10, 2012
Just a small post, but had a nice ride on a beautiful day around the Reservoir Loop at the Fells this afternoon. For those unfamiliar, the Fells has been the source of a great deal of controversy regarding mountain biking for the better part of the past two decades. Check out fellsbiker.com for a pretty thorough overview of where things stand.
Fortunately for me, they opened up a great 6 mile single track loop right before I moved down to Charlestown. It takes me less than 15 minutes from the time I start my car until the time I am riding, so I quickly adopted the loop as my "quick and easy" ride for Saturdays or Sundays when I don't have time to get up to Fort Rock, Lynn Woods, or anywhere else that has a bit more terrain.
Anyway, I actually sold my Contour last night, so no video footage (probably a good thing considering my frustration level with the small FOV at this point), but I figured I'd post a few pictures since I've ridden the loop (or variations thereof) at least 10 times this summer, and I didn't want the season to go by without acknowledging how happy I was to discover this great ride so close to the city. Definitely made moving back to Boston much easier on my psyche.
Should have the Go Pro soon - can't wait to capture some far superior skiing footage this year.
Enjoy the pics!
Fortunately for me, they opened up a great 6 mile single track loop right before I moved down to Charlestown. It takes me less than 15 minutes from the time I start my car until the time I am riding, so I quickly adopted the loop as my "quick and easy" ride for Saturdays or Sundays when I don't have time to get up to Fort Rock, Lynn Woods, or anywhere else that has a bit more terrain.
Anyway, I actually sold my Contour last night, so no video footage (probably a good thing considering my frustration level with the small FOV at this point), but I figured I'd post a few pictures since I've ridden the loop (or variations thereof) at least 10 times this summer, and I didn't want the season to go by without acknowledging how happy I was to discover this great ride so close to the city. Definitely made moving back to Boston much easier on my psyche.
Should have the Go Pro soon - can't wait to capture some far superior skiing footage this year.
Enjoy the pics!
This section doesn't look like much, but its a fairly tricky ascent that gets me almost every time.
28 October 2012
Kingdom Trails, VT - October 2012
Headed up to VT for our second annual Kingdom Trails trip with Scott, Chad, Josh and Zack in mid-October. A little past peak fall season, and a nice overnight frost, but once again the trip was a blast. Crashed in the Burke Bike Barn for the second straight year as well, can't speak highly enough about the place. Plenty of space, a fully functioning heater (which was key this weekend), and a new "game" room - but we didn't take advantage because, well, it was under 30 degrees out at night.
Saturday was beautiful though, blue skies and cool air. Scott and I hit up the cross country network, and Chad, Josh and Zack headed over to the downhill on Burke mountain. Turned out to be our only day of biking due to pretty heavy rain on Sunday, but it was a great one. Scott and I logged more than 16 miles. Troll Stroll stood out in particular as a great ride, I don't believe we went down that trail last year. Scott and I also came across a man who took a really hard fall on Tap and Die. We were able to contact emergency services and get him out OK on a backboard, but definitely an opportunity to pause and make sure to keep things under control the rest of the day. Hope he is doing alright.
Anyway, please enjoy the video. I kept it short because, frankly, the footage is borderline unwatchable. So much bouncing. I guess strapping the Contour to my bike helmet with an old ski goggle strap was not a good strategy. But the still shots I mixed in should give a feel for what the bike barn was like and the beauty of the surrounding farm lands, so it wasn't all for not.
Ski season is getting closer. And by then I vow to have a Go Pro, so hopefully this site takes another step in the right direction from a quality perspective.
Saturday was beautiful though, blue skies and cool air. Scott and I hit up the cross country network, and Chad, Josh and Zack headed over to the downhill on Burke mountain. Turned out to be our only day of biking due to pretty heavy rain on Sunday, but it was a great one. Scott and I logged more than 16 miles. Troll Stroll stood out in particular as a great ride, I don't believe we went down that trail last year. Scott and I also came across a man who took a really hard fall on Tap and Die. We were able to contact emergency services and get him out OK on a backboard, but definitely an opportunity to pause and make sure to keep things under control the rest of the day. Hope he is doing alright.
Anyway, please enjoy the video. I kept it short because, frankly, the footage is borderline unwatchable. So much bouncing. I guess strapping the Contour to my bike helmet with an old ski goggle strap was not a good strategy. But the still shots I mixed in should give a feel for what the bike barn was like and the beauty of the surrounding farm lands, so it wasn't all for not.
Ski season is getting closer. And by then I vow to have a Go Pro, so hopefully this site takes another step in the right direction from a quality perspective.
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